Speaking

Invite Sarah to Speak to Your Group!

Sarah Hamaker is an experienced presenter, and has spoken both in Zoom and in person to hundreds of people. She loves to connect with readers and writer groups of all sizes. Contact her with your request today!

Writing-related Speaking Topics

Beyond Fiction: Using Your Research, Expertise, and Enthusiasm in Articles, Blogs, and Talks
Ever wonder what to do with all that material you’ve collected for your novels? Then come to this workshop and learn how to repurpose all that research, information, data, and experiences to populate your blog or newsletter—or outside of your own promotional materials to online and print publications. We’ll also discuss ways to develop talks for readers and other groups. No matter what type of fiction you write, you have something to share with others—come learn how to expand your audience with this hands-on workshop.

The Care & Nurture of Readers
As a writer, you know you need to interact with and develop relationships with readers through your website, social media and newsletters. But many times, figuring out what to say and how to sustain the conversation can seem daunting and overwhelming. This workshop walks you through the basics on how to develop a plan to care for your readers.

A Crafty Way to Sell Books
Book signings, craft fairs, library author events—all of these in-person events can be great ways for authors to get their books in front of a new audience. This workshop will provide tried-and-true tips on how to pick the right venue, set up your table, and convert casual shoppers into book sales.

Encouragement for Writers
What happens when you feel called to write but find the words come hard, if at all? Are you discouraged in your writing? Do you ever think maybe this isn’t what you’re supposed to do after all? This workshop will help you reaffirm your calling to write, identify the common obstacles to writing and provide a path forward to your writing.

Playing Well With Others: How to Leverage the Power of Group Promotions
We all want to grow our audience to reach more readers, but many of us take the scattershot approach by signing up for group promotions without thinking through whether it’s the right promotion for us. This presentation will help you discern how to evaluate group promotions from groups like Booksweeps, Authors XP, Celebrate Lit and Just Reads, while also teaching you how to develop your own successful group promotions. You’ll learn the secrets to running your own group promotions, from blog tours to newsletter swaps to email giveaways—all designed to grow your email list and connect with readers.

Podcasting for Writers
In late 2020, 104 million people listened to one of the 1.5 million podcasts available, up from 32% in 2019, according to Infinite Dial 20. Why will podcasts continue to be one of the hottest forms of media in 2024 and beyond? Podcasts offer bite-sized chunks of information perfect for drive time and busy routines. In this webinar, author and podcaster Sarah Hamaker will discuss how to start your own podcast as well as tips on how to be a good guest on a podcast.

Proposals, Queries, Pitches, Oh, My!
You’ve finished your nonfiction or fiction manuscript, and face the somewhat daunting prospect of putting together a query, pitch or proposal. This workshop will show what goes into a proposal and how to make it shine. We’ll also examine the differences between queries and pitches, and ways to make yours stand out.

Writing in the Time You’ve Got
How many times have you said, “I wish I had more time to write?” While we can’t cram more hours into a day, we can find more ways to incorporate writing into our busy schedules. Learn how to think about time, use time and cultivate a life of writing in “Writing in the Time You’ve Got.”

What attendees are saying about Sarah’s writing-related talks.

“I loved your class on time and it had me putting the laundry away that I’ve been avoiding for the past week.”

“I love the idea of batching time and just getting those things we procrastinate out of the way. Excellent session!”

“Great presentation, Sarah, and excellent PowerPoint. Lots of good ideas. Thank you!”

“Sarah Hamaker is an excellent speaker. She recently brought a teaching to the WCCWN Writers Group on Beyond Fiction: Using your research, expertise, and enthusiasm in Articles, Blogs, and Talks. She gave us information to use for our past writing. She showed us how to use our writings to market our newly released books. Very helpful. WCCWN is a varied group of writers from beginners to professional, from non-published to published. She related to each one of us. She gave us new ideas for marketing. I highly recommend Sarah as a speaker for your writing group. We hope to have her bring another presentation in the future.”

Parenting-related Speaking Topics

Cooperation, Consequences and Keeping Your Sanity
A trained presenter for the National Center for Biblical Parenting, I am available to give the center’s “Cooperation, Consequences and Keeping Your Sanity” Seminar: The most common complaint parents have is that their kids don’t follow instructions, but moms and dads can easily learn how to give their kids instructions that their children will follow. This seminar teaches parents how to teach their kids five skills for receiving instructions.

How to Raise a Responsible & Self-reliant Child (Most popular topic!)
Gives a firm foundation from which to parent while also providing practical ways to teach a child responsibility and self-reliance.

Preparing Your Child for Life Through Conflict Resolution and Teamwork
Guides parents in how to help their children reduce conflict with siblings and friends, plus provides steps for conflict resolution kids can do on their own.

A Parent’s Essential Toolbox
Gives concrete and workable solutions to behavior problems (including school issues) and provides a blueprint of responsibilities for children.

The Well-Behaved Child
Designed to help parents free their children from the burden of misbehavior; ideal for parents of kids between the ages of 3 and 13.

Time Management for Busy Moms
This talk focuses on how you should think about time and includes practical tips for managing your time more wisely.

Rediscovering Your Talents as a Mom
Each one of us has talents, but many times we have trouble figuring out what those abilities might be, especially after having children. This presentation helps parents uncover concrete ways to rediscover—and enjoy—their talents, plus how to turn those talents into work-from-home opportunities.

Request Your Own Topic
I can work with you on developing a presentation designed to meet the needs of your group.

Invite Sarah to Speak